Entries in Peace
(3)

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan, a key American ally and advocate of the Middle East peace process, says he does not have much hope for progress on negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in the coming months.

"My instincts tell me not to expect much over the next couple of months, unfortunately," King Abdullah said in an exclusive interview with " ABC’s This Week anchor Christiane Amanpour." "I just have a feeling that we're going to be living with the status quo for 2011."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently visiting the United States, where he met with President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday, before addressing a joint session of Congress next Tuesday. Netanyahu spoke strongly against President Obama's Thursday address in which he publicly called for the pre-1967 borders of Israel to serve as the starting point for future peace negotiations.

Abdullah said the current realities on the ground leave him pessimistic, including Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.

"When he speaks to me, I see his vision of peace with the Palestinians, peace with the Arabs and I've always left those meetings feeling very optimistic," Abdullah said of his discussions with Netanyahu. "But unfortunately, the circumstances that we've seen on the ground for the past two years does not fill me with much hope."

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who resigned this month as President Obama's envoy to the Middle East after serving two years, said that while President Obama's comments on the 1967 borders were "a significant statement," they do not signal a major shift in policy, especially when land swaps are considered.

"The president didn't say that Israel has to go back to the '67 lines. He said with agreed swaps," Mitchell told Amanpour. "Swaps means an exchange of land intended to accommodate major Israeli population centers to be incorporated into Israel and Israel's security needs. Agreed means through negotiations. Both parties must agree."

While Mitchell said "it's indisputable that we have not made as much progress as we would have liked," he said he maintains a positive outlook if both sides are willing to negotiate.

George Mitchell (L) speaks with a Palestinian Authority member during a 2009 meeting between President Obama and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)(WASHINGTON) -- Former Sen. George Mitchell is stepping down as U.S. special envoy for Mideast peace, according to an administration official. The White House was expected to announce Mitchell’s departure Friday. The official said Mitchell is leaving for “personal reasons.”

His resignation comes just a week before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit Washington and is expected to present new ideas on how to break jammed negotiations with the Palestinians. The process hit a new snag in recent weeks when the Palestinian Authority struck a deal with rival Hamas, which has refused to renounce violence against Israel.

After 18 months of shuttle diplomacy by Mitchell and others, the Obama administration finally launched talks between Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas in early September and pledged to have a framework deal within a year. Just weeks later the talks fell apart over a dispute about settlements in the West Bank, and months later the administration abandoned the effort but maintained it could get some sort of agreement within that same year timeline.

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres Tuesday to discuss revolutions and protests in the Mideast and how peace in Israel can be achieved.

President Peres is expected to tell Obama in detail about the new peace intiative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working on and ask for his input in return.

Some Israeli lawmakers have expressed renewed doubts that peace can be achieved while their region is wracked with so much political upheaval. But others have said solving the conflict with the Palestinians now will help forge peaceful ties with the next crop of Arab leaders and regimes that emerge, and Peres will try to convey that message.

Tuesday's meeting comes a day after Israeli officials announced more Israeli housing construction in the contested areas, which the United States said they are "deeply concerned" with.

"Not only are continued Israeli settlements illegitimate, Israel’s actions run counter to efforts to resume direct negotiations," White House National Security Staff spokesman Tommy Vietor said Monday in a statement.﻿